2011 Year-End Investment Returns by Asset Class

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. Thank you for your support.

I’ve been waiting for some good graphics about the performance of various asset classes for 2011. Got any? I’d try and make one myself, but I’m exhausted from year-end festivities. Below is one from Scotty Barber of Reuters (click to enlarge):

I also saved as a PDF the performance data from all Vanguard mutual funds after the close of the last trading day of 2011 (download link). Selected funds:

Fund Ticker

Asset Class

2011 Total Return

Stocks

VFINX

S&P 500

1.97%

VTSMX

US Total Market

0.96%

VISVX

US Small Cap Value

-4.16%

VGSIX

US Real Estate (REIT)

8.47%

VFWIX

International Total Market

-14.41%

VGTSX

International Total Market

-14.56%

VFSVX

International Small Cap

-20.28%

VEIEX

Emerging Markets

-19.18%

Bonds

VFISX

Short-Term Treasury

2.26%

VIPSX

Inflation-Protected Bonds

13.24%

VBMFX

Total Bond Market Index

7.56%

As a reminder that being this year’s best performing asset class is no guarantee of for future years, here’s the Periodic Table of Investment Returns from Callan that shows the relative performance of 8 major asset classes over the last 20 years (1991-2010, click to view PDF).

Any predictions for 2012? 🙂

Share this:

My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings for selected credit cards, and may receive a commission from card issuers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is also a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for your support.

User Generated Content Disclosure: Comments and/or responses are not provided or commissioned by any advertiser. Comments and/or responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser. It is not any advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Do you actually buy individual munis or buy something like VCITX or VCAIX?
How does interest rates affect the Vanguard ETFs because I read that rising interest rates would lower the value of the bonds held as ETFs or mutual funds but when you buy the individual munis you can hold on till maturity when you get paid.

I own the limited and intermediate-term Vanguard bond funds. If I lived in CA, I would own a small % of the California Muni fund. Rising interest rates would affect the market price of any muni fund, you just don’t have to mark to market the bonds you own individually. I don’t wish to bother with individual funds, I like the diversification and relatively cheap active management from the funds.

Archives

Categories

Connect with me

Please do not re-publish text or pictures found on this site elsewhere without explicit prior written consent.

Advertiser Disclosure

MyMoneyBlog.com is a member of the Amazon Associate Program, and if you click through to Amazon and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission.

MyMoneyBlog.com is for informational purposes only. I am not your financial advisor. Do not take it as legal, financial, or tax advice for your personal situation.

Rates and terms set on third-party websites are subject to change without notice. MyMoneyBlog.com may have financial relationships with the merchants mentioned, meaning that I may receive a commission if visitors click on any outbound links and buy something. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and has not been provided nor approved by any of the companies mentioned.

MyMoneyBlog.com is for informational purposes only. Do not take it as legal, financial, or tax advice for your personal situation.

Rates and terms set on third-party websites are subject to change without notice. Per FTC guidelines, MyMoneyBlog.com has financial relationships with the merchants mentioned. MyMoneyBlog.com is compensated if visitors click on any outbound links and generate sales for the said merchant.

The editorial content on this site is not provided by the companies whose products are featured. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or evaluations provided here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the Advertiser.